At the Burrow, the Beginning of Healing
by enterprisefan13
Summary: At the Burrow, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley have a bonding moment over cooking, Ron enjoys breakfast and hand holding! If you want me to continue, just let me know in a review!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I haven't written a story in just about forever, because I am a Sophomore in college, and yeah. But I think this will be a great story, so please read and review!

Hermione inched her way down into the kitchen of the Burrow. It had been just a few days since the Battle, and she still didn't feel like her old self. She wasn't even sure what that meant "her old self." The Battle hadn't only changed her, but the War had changed her. Who was she? She wasn't sure that question could ever be answered, as she grasped the back of a chair and gingerly maneuvered into it. Her bones still ached from the curses thrown at her, but she was still alive. Survivor's guilt began to envelop her as her thoughts surrounded her. It was a nudge that suddenly brought her back. "You alright dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked her voice gentle as she hugged Hermione by placing an arm over her shoulders, and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"As good as I think I could be." Hermione answered. Mrs. Weasley looked at her for a brief moment, before nodding. She moved toward the oven, then summoned eggs, bacon, and bread for breakfast. They remained in a comfortable silence before Hermione broke it. "Mrs. Weasley?"

"Hm?" she said, distractingly making sure that all the ingredients were being put together correctly.

"Can I help you make breakfast? After being on the run for a year, I'm not used to just sitting still..." Mrs. Weasley started to protest but Hermione interrupted saying, "plus the food I cooked was, um, maybe not the best? Not that I had a choice." She defended, as the first small grin since the Battle began to form on Mrs. Weasley's face. She nodded, motioning Hermione over.

"Sure dear, besides I think a distraction will do us both good." She said. She pulled out the cook book she didn't usually have to use, as she had it memorized by memory, but knew Hermione needed to see it. "See here, it says that we need two eggs per person, we have ten people, well fifteen if we count Ron. I usually cook for way more than that anyway…" She trailed off. "…I suppose it's not ten people anymore… without Fred." The happiness that had suddenly on her face disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared. "I keep forgetting…" Hermione looked up from the cook book, unsure of what to do. She had seen Mrs. Weasley angry, worried, and motherly, but never in such pain. This woman was the best mother she knew. She decided she would return the favor that Mrs. Weasley had given her, and hugged her tightly. At first Mrs. Weasley responded with confusion, before holding tightly onto Hermione. Her shoulders began to quake with sobs, and before Hermione realized it; tears were streaming down her face as well. They stayed hugging for what felt like an eternity, and only a moment at the same time. Mrs. Weasley was the first to pull away, wiping under her eyes to relieve them of moisture. "Well… I still have six children I need to feed, eight if you count you and Harry dear." She said, repositioning herself with her wand.

"Are you sure? I can finish." Hermione said, clearly worried. Mrs. Weasley turned to her, a sad look on her face.

"I cannot stop taking care of my children Hermione, even though I have lost one. I still have six that need to be loved, even though we are so much pain." She answered. Hermione could not believe the strength of this woman, who had not only the strength to continue, but the strength to take care of her children. "And quite frankly dear, I don't think that Ron could handle your food, he is quite picky." Hermione giggled at that.

"You are quite right. He has missed this home cooked meal very much." Mrs. Weasley grinned full out at this statement, instructing her wand to cut up the loaf.

"He fancies you, you know." Mrs. Weasley said, without looking up. Hermione blushed, not at the fact that she didn't know this fact already, but because Mrs. .Weasley had actually said it out loud, and she didn't know about the kiss, she thought. "Life's too short to not tell someone you love them." At this she turned full onto Hermione. "You know about the first War of course, correct?"

"Yes, of course. It's how this all began, Harry and all."

"And it is when Arthur and I decided to get married. For all we knew it was the end of the world, and I sure didn't want to not marry the man I loved just because we might die. Even if we were married mere moments, it would have been worth it. I wanted to marry him, because I didn't want to miss a moment dear." Hermione remembered that rush when she jumped in Ron's arms. In that moment she thought that if they were going to die, she wanted to kiss him. It was the one thing she wanted to experience before she died.

"I know the feeling." She murmured, but Mrs. Weasley heard it anyway.

"We're not in the War anymore, but the War has shown us that life is too precious to wait around for the perfect moment. There is no perfect moment." Mrs. Weasley said, placing a hand on Hermione's arm. "I know that this is all happening quickly, but you've been best friends for seven years, and fighting off feelings for each other for at least three of them." She said without missing a beat.

"Was it really that obvious?" Hermione groaned.

"Well, I am his mother."

It was this sight of Mrs. Weasley and Hermione working side by side that Ron encountered in the kitchen. From his room he could smell the bacon, and resisted the urge to nudge Harry awake. For the first time in years, Harry wasn't waking up screaming with visions from You-Know-Who. He deserved to sleep, however brief it was before he too smelled the bacon. Ron had tried to smooth his hair, and brush his teeth before coming downstairs. He didn't change out of his pajamas though. He tried to quietly walk down the squeaky stairs, before leaning against the door frame. His Mum and Hermione were chatting away, not noticing his presence. He was happy to see that they were relaxed, not thinking about the Battle for once. He realized his Mum looked thinner than he remembered, and he didn't like that. Hermione looked thin too of course, but he had become accustomed to it, but not for the way his Mum looked. When this bloody thing was done with, and he finally had money, he was determined to provide for her. "Ron, c'mon you're blocking the door." Ginny's voice said, startling him, his Mum, and Hermione. He moved out of the door way, sheepishly.

"Sorry Gin, didn't realize you were there." He said. She shrugged before sitting down. Hermione turned to look at him timidly.

"Morning Ron, guess you smelled the bacon?" She asked.

"Of course I did, did Mum help you make it?" He asked, finally peeling himself away from the door frame to the oven. He looked over his Mum's shoulder but she batted away his hand when he reached for a piece. He hugged her, much to her surprise. "Looks delicious Mum."

"Just so you know, I helped a lot, didn't I Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione said defensively

"Of course you did dear. Where's Harry?" She questioned Ron, an eye brow raised. He turned to the stairs and bellowed up.

"ANY ONE WHO IS HUNGRY BREAKFAST IS ABOUT TO BE SERVED."

"That's not quite what I meant." Mrs. Weasley said, placing a plate of toast on the table.

"Gets the job done though, doesn't it?" Ron said, reaching for a few pieces of toast. A few moments later Harry, Percy, Charlie, Bill and Fleur, and George groggily made their way into the kitchen.

"Thanks for the wakeup call mate." Harry said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He answered in the same tone, earning him a pretend whack from Harry. Harry sat down next to Ginny, and across from Ron. "Go ahead mate, there's bacon, toast, and eggs."

"I don't know if I feel too hungry." Harry said.

"Deary, if I have to eat, you have to eat." Mrs. Weasley said.

When the food was all on the table, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley joined the group. Mr. Weasley was gone on some business, but would return home. The only empty chair was Fred's, a stark reminder of the Battle. Suddenly Harry held up a glass full of pumpkin juice, "To Fred!" he said, and the others responded, "To Fred!" before diving into their food.

Hermione gingerly moved her hand closer and closer to Ron's until it her pinky was touching his. Without saying a word and without looking at her, Ron turned his hand over and laced his fingers together with Hermione's. He then placed there intertwined hands on his lap for the rest of the meal.

A/N: I actually may continue this to after the meal, with a kiss? Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, seems like a few people like this story. If you do, and want to see more, just leave a review!

Chapter 2

After dinner the family began to slink away from the table, and each other. First it was Harry, mumbling something about needing to change his clothes. Ginny wasn't far behind, saying she too needed to get changed, but it was fairly obvious to everyone where she was going. She and Harry had a lot to catch up on, and no one wanted to make things worse. After the tail end of her red hair rounded the door frame, George left the table, sending a wink at Ron, although the smirk didn't quite reach his eyes. The others were quick to follow George, each kissing Mrs. Weasley's cheeks before ascending the stairs. After this scattering, only Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were left in the kitchen. Ron and Hermione's hands were still clasped under the table. They stared awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to say. Ron opened his mouth, paused, then ran a hand through his hair and lowered his eyes to stare at his plate. Hermione opened her mouth after this, but couldn't find the words of what to say, and also turned her eyes to her plate. It was Mrs. Weasley who saved them from the silence. Previously she had been busying herself with cleaning, trying to watch her son's love life too closely. "Ron, why don't you go get changed? I have a few chores you need to complete." Her voice shattered the silence. Ron and Hermione looked up quickly at her, as though her presence at been completely forgotten. Ron nodded slowly, glancing at Hermione. She stared back at him, searching his face. After a moment she nodded slightly, and then smiled widely at Mrs. Weasely.

"Great idea, Mrs. Weasely. I'm sure the distraction will do us some good." Hermione's voice said meekly. She edged off the chair, and, to Mrs. Weasley's surprise, Ron was following her, connected by their intertwining hands. Hermione began to ascend the stairs, but Ron abruptly pulled away his hand. Hermione raised an eye brow, but seemed to search his face again and ascended the stairs. Ron turned, and before Mrs. Weasley could react, his arms were around her, his face in her shoulder. She uncertainly placed her arms around him, before she felt his body shake with what she knew were tears. She placed a hand on his head, gently brushing through the strands. They said nothing for what seemed like years; him crying into her shoulder, and her comforting him. He gently pulled back from her, the tears rolling off his nose. She resisted the urge to wipe the tears from his eyes. He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"It's alright Ron, to fall in love even as you miss Fred." She whispered, marveling in his sudden widened eyes. Didn't he realize that she was his mother and would always know these things? To her surprise he didn't scoff or turn pink. His face turned serious as he huffed down in the chair he had previously been sitting in. He ran both hands through his hair before staring pleading up at her.

"It's just it's happened during all of this. I should be thinking about Fred and this family, not..." he waved widely around, "snogging Hermione." He ended the last bit in a quiet voice. "And besides, maybe she only kissed me because we could have died." He wasn't even looking at Mrs. Weasley anymore.

'So that's it.' She thought to herself, lowering herself into the chair opposite of her youngest son.

"I mean, why not Harry?" she opened her mouth the reply, but before she could, Ron had already plowed on to his next point, "Besides, it's not even like you and Dad wanted me. You wanted a daughter, and all you got was another stupid son." The tips of his ears were pinkening as he took a sudden interest in a pattern on the table. Mrs. Weasley took a sharp breath in, tear forming in the corners of her eyes. How could Ron think that? She loved him as much as any of the other children. She supposed that because Ginny was the only girl she got special treatment… no, she definitely did get special treatment. She observed Ron closely, him still pretending that the table pattern was the most interesting thing in the world. Where had her little boy gone? She could barely remember the last time he got to act like a child. The moment he became Harry Potter's best friend, his childhood ended. There was never a time that he wasn't fleeing from You-Know- Who. And yet he wasn't the one covering the paper, Harry was. And yet he never expressed this, he was never the jokester that George and Fred were, and he wasn't like Charlie or Bill. And that's when it hit her; he had slipped through the cracks. Her youngest son had slipped through the cracks. She placed her hand on his gently, but he didn't respond.

"Not Harry because she wants to be with you." Her voice was firm, but her gaze was gentle. His eyes were pleading with her to continue, so she tried to keep her voice steady. "You aren't stupid Ron, and you were wanted." He rolled his eyes at this, but she continued, "you are not like your other siblings, and that just makes you, you. You are Ron, and you, not your other siblings helped defeat You- Know-Who. I'm sorry if you ever felt like the odd child out."

"But how could Hermione, even… I mean, we almost died."

"Ronald Weasley, if you try to tell me you two haven't been tiptoeing around your feelings for years, I'm going to box your eyes." She said simply. The sides of Ron's mouth began to curve up at this statement.

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully, his eyes full of hope. She placed her hand the cheek of her son that had had to grow up too fast.

"Yes." Came her simple answer. Ron seemed to take a stabilizing breath He jumped up from the table in a sudden rush of energy. He seemed to think twice as he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. He turned to run up the stairs, "don't forget to change out your pajamas!" she yelled up the stairs after him. Her little boy was all grown up, and in love.

Less than ten minutes later Ron was tumbling out of his room in a jumper and jeans. He was combing his hands through his hair hazardly.

"Headed somewhere, mate?" came Harry's voice from Ron's room. Ron could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Sod off. " He replied, unable to keep the smile out his tone. He nearly ran to Ginny's room, hoping Hermione might be in the room. Taking another stabilizing breath, he knocked on the door tentatively. No response. He knocked harder; no response. He was beginning to think she was ignoring him, so he turned to leave, running right into a something that said "oomph". Hermione looked up at him from his chest, her cheeks turning that cute shade of pink that they did. "Sorry." He mumbled, moving out of the way so she could enter the room. She gestured for him to enter the room as well, but he shook his head, opting to stand in the door way. Hermione packed away some laundry, and shuffled some books from her bag into a bookcase. She seemed to be stalling for time. "So… um…" She turned at this, watching him expectantly.

"Yes?" she said almost breathlessly. He seemed to have lost his nerve, now just smiling at her. She sighed. "We're rubbish at this." With a plop she landed on the bed. Ron now joined her on the bed, plopping next to her.

"We are, aren't we?"Ron mumbled, half glancing at her. Then they burst out into laughter, holding their sides. As they calmed down they realized exactly how close their faces were. Their faces burst into blushes as they pushed themselves up into a sitting position, Hermione hiding her face behind her knees. "It happened, right? I'm not just making it up?" That caused Hermione to chuckle.

"Of course it happened." She giggled, earning herself a glare from Ron.

"Well we haven't talked about it." He shrugged. "I thought maybe it was just a mistake." Hermione put her hand out, but Ron ignored it. She turned to face him on the bed.

"I didn't mention it because I didn't think you wanted to talk about it…" He now turned to look at her. "With everything that happened, I thought that maybe you didn't want to actually have done it." She ended, blushing furiously.

"I thought it was you who didn't mean it." He responded.

"I'm the bloody one who kissed you!" She said, sounding almost angry. Ron's eyes widened at her swearing. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"We make quite the pair don't we?" Hermione scooted closer to him. "We can't even tell each other we like each other after we already kissed."

"You like me?" she whispered. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at this question. Liked her? Yeah, she could say that. What he felt was more than friendship. He just never thought she felt that she could possibly feel the same. But he simply responded,

"Yeah." She paused, and Ron had the sinking feeling that he had said the wrong thing.

"Me too." She said after a long pause. He couldn't resist the urge to crack a joke at her misuse of grammar.

"You like yourself?" that earned him a smack on the arm, but eased the tension. He rubbed the spot on his arm. She could hit a lot harder than he thought.

"You know what I meant." There it was again, that awkward silence.

"Yeah." He wished that he could be that romantic guy that Hermione deserved and probably wanted, but he was just Ron, the best friend to Harry Potter. He made to get up off the bed, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Don't go." She begged. He slid back onto the bed, uncertain of how he was supposed to act. Hermione seemed like she hadn't thought this through either. But she let out an angry sight. "This isn't how this was supposed to go!" Ron leaned back as she said this. "Why can't we ever be simple…" she was starting to rant, which was unbelievably cute to Ron. She was ranting about how she thought that for once in their life they could talk about their feelings without being scared about it; and before he realized it, he had cupped her face in his hands. Her ranting stopped as she looked up into his eyes. It felt like the world had stopped around them, and it was just the two of them. He didn't feel awkward anymore, he didn't feel obsolete anymore. He didn't have any more time to wait before starting at her would just be awkward, so building all the Gryffindor bravery he could muster, he leaned in.

Her lips were soft against his. At first the kiss was gentle, before Hermione grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him in. He opened his mouth a little, and her top lip fit perfectly in between his two lips, her bottom up under his bottom lip. He combed his fingers through her busy hair, reveling in the feeling he never thought he would feel. It felt like their kiss had been endless, but finally they pulled away. Their faces were still over inches apart, and he knew he looking at her lips. "So, does that make me your girlfriend?" Hermione teased.

"You tell me." He said, leaning in more confidently this time, a hand on her lower back side.

A/N: If you liked this, please review, and shoot me a prompt!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: If anyone is out there, please review. I'm so sorry about the wait. I was on winter break, and I work at McDonald's, and I was always busy. If you are out there, please review!

Chapter 3

There was a sudden, loud noise that caused Ron and Hermione to jump apart quickly. "Wha…." Ron began, but stopped suddenly as his eyes adjusted. Ginny stood in the doorway of her room, her mouth opened. If he didn't know better, Ron would have thought that she had been petrified. The only sign of life was her eyes swiveling between Ron and Hermione, who were now sitting next to each other, their hands intertwined. She pointed back and forth between them.

"Uh," she continued pointing "Uh-" she was trying to talk, but only managed these few sounds, still looking shocked. There was a second bang as Harry stumbled into the back of her. He rubbed is head, looking confused.

"Gin, what…" He started, before looking over her shoulder. The grin that grew on his face stretched from ear to ear. "Oh yeah, didn't I tell you?" Ginny now rounded on Harry, an eye brow lifted. "They got together during the Battle!" he spit out, in an attempt to stop Ginny from shouting. Now she turned back to Ron and Hermione; Harry looked relieved. For a moment they just stared at each other, unblinking. Then Ginny gave a squeal and came running into the room. She threw herself at Hermione, who had to release Ron's hand in order not to hit her head from the impact. She wrapped an arm around Ginny, looking bemused. Ginny pulled back, and then said in a breathless voice,

"Thank god the two of you finally came to your senses!" She dodged a smack from Ron. "What? It's not like we haven't all known for years you know. Right, Harry?" She asked. Harry looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He rubbed the back of his head, avoiding looking at Ginny, who was now glaring at him. "Harry…" she began. He put his hands up in defeat.

"Alright, alright. You have to admit, it was sort of obvious, since, about fourth year." He said sheepishly. Ginny nodded.

"Honestly, I thought that the two of you would've jumped each other over this past year. Merlin knows the sexual tension has been disgusting the past few years."

"Well they didn't, which I'm not complaining about, as I was there the whole time." Harry said. Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes at this.

"Good to know you lot keep tabs on our relationship." Hermione jabbed, sitting back up now.

"Aha, so you admit it's a relationship?!"Said Ginny, punching the air. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, the corner of their lips turning upwards.

"Yeah, actually, that's what you just interrupted." Said Ron, a look of disgust now forming on Ginny's face. "We were just, 'finalizing' being in a relationship."

"Ugh, too much information." Said Ginny, her face scrunched in a look of utter disgust. And, as if to prove it, Ron leaned in quickly towards Hermione, and pecked her on the lips. He pulled back, ears pink, but a pleased look on his face. He wrapped an arm around Hermione as though they had done it hundreds of times before. Hermione looked pleasantly pink, while Ginny looked torn between being pleased for her friend, and disgusted at her brother kissing someone. Harry had seen their first kiss, so he wasn't too disgusted by a simple peck. He and Ginny took a seat across from Ron and Hermione, and copied their position.

"Just don't make me the third wheel anymore than you already do." He said seriously.

"As long as we aren't the third wheel to you and Ginny." Ron retorted.

"Deal." They sat in comfortable silence. This was the first time they had had time all together alone. Immediately following the Battle, the Weasleys plus Harry and Hermione had stayed together in a tight knit group. But now that they were alone, they could Ginny everything without the chance of Mrs. Weasley over hearing. When they got to the part of when Ron left them, Ginny was understandably upset. She stood up, appearing as though she might strike Ron.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" She screamed, ready to pounce. Harry leapt up, grabbed her arms and practically sat on her to restrain her to the bed.

"He came back, alright? He made up for it." Harry explained how Ron had saved his life, and talked about the locket, but did not go into detail. It was Ron's story to tell, if he didn't want to tell all of it, Harry didn't feel he had the right to. Ron nodded gratefully to Harry subtly, unseen by Hermione or Ginny. It felt like hours that they had sat talking together, rehashing the whole year to Ginny. At the end, Harry said, "well, at least we all made it through, together." The couples looked at their significant other, thinking. How many times had they had nightmares that they wouldn't be sitting here, together? At all? They tightened their arms around each other. Ginny was now watching Ron and Hermione with a curious expression on her face.

"A picture would last longer." Hermione said at last. She felt self-conscious, as though Ginny was scrutinizing every part of her.

"Sorry." Ginny mumbled, hastily looking away.

"No, what?" Ron said impatiently. He knew what was coming, Ginny was about to shout him down about being a coward, and although he deserved it, because he was a coward, he wished she wouldn't do it in front of his two best friends. He braced himself for impact. Ginny seemed to contemplate her next words carefully, as she kept opening her mouth, shaking her head almost imperceptibly and then closing her mouth again. Ron chanced a glance at Hermione, who shook her head, looking just as perplexed as he felt. Finally, Ginny opened her mouth, and Ron leaned as far back as he could, fearing the worst.

"It's strange seeing the two of you, together. We knew it was inevitable, but when we talked about it, we always talked about how Fred and George would burst in on you two and tease you non- stop." Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. This was not at all what Ron had been expecting, and he wasn't sure how to respond. "Not that I'm not happy for you two, because, I am. About bloody time. I just wish Fred was here to see it." Before anyone could react, Ron had jumped off the bed and bounded over to her. Harry released his arm around Ginny, and moved to give Ron space. Ron grabbed his sister to him, petting her hair and rocking her back and forth. This was his little sister, and he wanted so badly to stop the pain. He whispered soothing words to her, unsure of what he was actually saying.

"Fred knows, okay? He knew how I felt about Hermione, and I'm sure he knows that I finally plucked up some courage that he always teased me on finding." A shadow of a smile started to form on Ginny's lips, although she was still crying. Ron continued rocking her back and forth. "Crazy, isn't it, how Fred annoyed the crap out of all of us, but we'd take him back in a heartbeat? It's strange how we don't use words to tell someone how much we love them." He looked down at Ginny. "But I know he knows we loved him. Whenever we were in danger, he and George stepped up to the plate. They liked to pretend that they didn't take their big brother roles too seriously, but they couldn't hide it well." He said. Ginny had stopped crying, mopping the side of her eyes with a bit of her shirt.

"You're not too bad yourself." She told Ron, nudging him the ribs. "I know I tease you mercilessly, but I wouldn't trade having you for anything." She and Ron hugged at this, holding each other tightly. When they broke apart, Harry and Hermione were embracing just they had been. "We're family." Ginny said to all of them. At this, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley stepped in, her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Everyone's here." She said, her voice breaking, "to celebrate the life of those lost."

A/N: Alright, let me know! If no one reviews, I often feel discouraged. This took a turn at the end I wasn't expecting, but honestly, I feel like it is real. A brother of mine died when I was 6, and sometimes family needs a reminder that although we hate each other a lot, we love each other to the ends of the earth.


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